The New Orleans Health Department handed out fliers Monday evening (Aug. 11) warning people who have been living under the Pontchartrain Expressway overpass that they have 72 hours to leave.

The area between S. Claiborne to St. Charles avenues has been declared a public health hazard due to "debris, food products, garbage and waste which has led to rodent harborage," according to the notice.

The city also warned motorists if they park under the overpass their vehicles will be towed.

Charlotte Parent, deputy director of the health department, said that for weeks the city has tried to keep that section clean but it's become impossible to do things such as control rodents and other pests with so many people living in the area.

The city, along with a coalition of homeless organizations, will be going out over the next several days assessing each person's needs.

There are currently enough temporary shelter beds available to house the 140 people who are living in the encampment, Parent said. Most people will be directed to the New Orleans Mission, the Salvation Army, Ozanam Inn and Covenant House.

People who have significant physical and mental health disabilities will be placed in permanent supportive housing while others from out of town could be eligible to receive bus tickets home through the Travelers Aid Society of Greater New Orleans.

Map shows location where homeless have been ordered to leave

The city began posting fliers, most of which have been torn down, around 8 p.m. Monday so the homeless people are expected to leave by the same time Thursday, Parent said.

After the area is cleared, the Department of Sanitation and the Mosquito, Termite and Rodent Control Board will begin cleanup efforts. Parking under that section of the overpass will not be permitted for the foreseeable future.

Parent, who denied the timing had anything to do with the Saints' Friday night preseason home opener at the nearby Superdome, said the city is exploring a permanent solution to ensure that another so-called tent city doesn't sprout up there again as it has repeatedly over the past six years.

In 2012, the city broke up an encampment of 75 people. A year earlier the city removed 115 people and in 2008 another large group was relocated.

The area is a popular location among homeless people because it provides shelter from the rain and is near the New Orleans Mission, the largest homeless shelter in the city. It is also highly visible and attracts charitable people who donate food, clothing and tents.

At least 75 percent of those living there moved from other street locations or from abandoned buildings in the city and have been homeless for less than a year, said Martha Kegel, executive director of Unity of Greater New Orleans. At least 50 percent have mental or physical disabilities, she said.

There also is a small percentage of people who moved into the camp after arriving at the Greyhound bus station that is just a few blocks away.

Though seeing 140 people camped out under the overpass can be a jarring sight, the camp represents just a small percentage of the homeless population, Kegel said.

There are approximately 2,000 people on any given night in Orleans and Jefferson parishes living on the streets, in abandoned homes or in temporary shelters, according to Unity. That number is down 83 percent since 2007.

The best way to prevent another encampment is to stop giving people under the bridge food and tents, Kegel said. While people's intentions are good, bringing food creates public health problems because there are no bathrooms and it causes the population to swell. People who would normally stay in shelters come to the area to be around other homeless people and also to be fed, she said.

And giving people tents creates a more permanent situation that "attracts drug dealers and others who prey on vulnerable homeless people," Kegel said. "These things cause homeless camps to spiral out of control."

Angela Malone, who has been living under the bridge on and off for several years, said that at night cars circle the area selling people "weed and whatever else they're trying to get rid of."

The best way to help homeless people is to donate food and supplies to the shelters or agencies like Unity that provide permanent supportive housing, Parent said.

News of the 72-hour ultimatum spread throughout the camp Tuesday morning though few of the people said that they saw the notice or spoke with anyone from the city.

Only one flier was visible throughout the encampment and that was found on the ground by one of the homeless people who taped it to a cement pillar.

"The city should have done a better job. They didn't inform anyone what was going on," Malone said.

In previous years when the city broke up the camp, dwellers there were given a month's notice and workers, along with the police, made sure that a flier was attached to every tent, Malone said.

"I agree this is a health hazard but did it suddenly become a health hazard overnight?" Malone said.

Mario Mendoza, who has been sleeping under the bridge for three months after the house he was living in burned down, said he didn't know anything about the order to leave until a reporter told him.

Mohammed Qaryouti, 63, said he would have to find a sidewalk to sleep on until he can find somewhere safer to camp. The bridge of his nose was covered in cuts and bruises.

"A guy asked for a dollar and a cigarette and when I told him I didn't have any he jumped me," Mike said. "I knocked him out but hit my head on the curb."

He pointed to several dead rats lying on the pavement that he killed the other night.

"I can't sleep. Maybe a few hours. I've been under the bridge for too long," he said.

Phillip Bodden, 58, moved under the bridge three months ago. He was living with a girlfriend after undergoing back surgery but when they had a falling out he turned to the streets

Many of the people in the encampment have stayed at various shelters but most of the facilities have time limitations on how long people can stay unless they have permanent employment or are enrolled in a social services program such as drug rehabilitation.

Bodden said that the city better have a plan in place to house the people in the camp because if they are scattered into the surrounding neighborhoods "that's when there are going to be real problems," he said. "It's going to be chaos."